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ELLIE LAUfiA; 



OB, 



THE BOEDER OEPHAN. 



A DRAMA, 



By Eev. JAMES GALEAE Y, D. D. 



NEW YOEK : 

P. O'SHEA, 27 BAKCLAY STKEET. 

P. DONAHOE, FRANKLIN STREET, BOSTON. 

J. GRAHAM, MADISON STREET, CHICAGO. 

:price one oojllar. 



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Eutered according to Act of Ca>,gro.s in the yea. ISIl, 

By JAMES O'LEABY. D.D., 
in tbe Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington 



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DRAMATIS PERSONS. 



Nuns. 



TERESA, 

STANISLAUS, 

CONSTANTIA, 

IR^NE, 

ELLIE LAURA, the Border Orphan. 

CLARA, an Illmois Girl. 

ESTA, a Massachusetts Girl. 

IDA, a New York Girl. 



SHABNAYE, an Indian Chief. 
SHE-BUFFALO, a Squaw. 
WALLA-WALLA, ) 
WINA, [Papooses. 

McSHANE, ColoneL 
FATHER TOM. 
CROTTY, I 
KTNSELLA, f o^^^ers. 



DELIA, AGNES, MARU, ETHEL, ANNA, 
ANASTASLi, JULIA, JANE, HANNA, 
CORA, EULALIA, WINNIE, ANGELINA, 3 



PupiUk 



PREFACE 



This drama was writtea for the pupils of St. 
Joseph^s Academy, Brooklyn, E. D. 

It is an attempt to meet a demand for amuse- 
ment and instruction in Catholic educational in- 
stitutions. 

There are but three scenes ; one in a school- 
room, one by the bank of a river, and one in an 
Indian wigwam. The drama is founded on fact, 
the saving of the white settlers along the Illinois 
river by Shabnaye during the Black Hawk war. 
Ellie Laura is a fictitious character and a repre- 
sentative of the sufferings, the vicissitudes, and 
the combinations that have taken place in settling 
our vast Western country. The plot, the char- 
acters, and the moral of this drama, are remitted 
to the judgment of the public, and may be found 
to possess a living interest for the inhabitants of 
Illinois along the Illinois river. The songs have 



IV PREFACE. 

been set to music by a Sister of St. Joseph's 
Academy. 

As this drama was written at the request of 
Eev. S. Malone, Pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul's 
Church, Brooklyn ; to him it is dedicated, with a 
hope that it will remain a witness of his good 
heart, clear head, and deep sense of principle. 

Rev. Dr. J. O'Leary. 

Brooklyn, January 26, 1872. 



PROLOGUE. 

An Acrostic to Rev. Sylvester Malone, 

Rise and come, gentle hearers, with me to the West, 
Enchantingly follow the sun to his rest, 
View the wild prairie spread and wild buffalo roam, 
See the forests arise from the deep precious loam 
Yclad in the grandeur of age and of joy — 
Looking proud by the rivers of proud Illinois ! 

View the mountains uprise and in majesty grow, 
Enrobed with the forest and crowned with the snow ! 
Sun-silvered the woodland, by the broad stream and blue. 
The deer, and the elk, and the bear hides from view ; 
Encumbered by naught and far wilder than these, 
Rude Indians fashion their wigwams of trees. 

Mellifluous ringeth the prairie winds' strain, 

And liberty loveth the sky-bounded plain ; 

Lo ! Liberty, chainless, pure spirit of light, 

O'er the wide prairie wanders encircled with might ! ' 

Now, then, come, gentle folks, to the wild West with me, 

EUie Laura, the lost border orphan to see. 



I 



ELLIE LAUEA. 



SCENE I. 

In a. Schoolroom at Morris, Ills. 

EUie Laura soliloquizing. 

Here, in the wilds of distant Illinois, 

There is a sadness indescribable. 

Which, day by day, and year by year, to me 

Has clung and deepens — yet I know not how ! 

Friends — I have ; and ReUgion lifts her shield 

To guard me, and consoles me with a balm 

And gentle judging kindness, which not aught 

Of earth l3egets. Rehgion follows me, 

Fans me, soothes me, and consolations bright 

Sheds round me, hoping to impart some cheer, 

Some joy of lasting kind ; but settled gloom 

And sense of sorrow irremovable, 

Press on me inwardly. Am I alone ? 

From the unseen recesses of my heart, 

A melancholy mist of thoughts exhales 

To ever vapor and bedew my brain. 

Am I in company ? The sunshine fair 



10 UUie Laura ; or. 

Of fair companions' faces, rests on me 

As beams upon the deep and troubled sea. 

In prayer there is a sombre quietness, 

An unfulfilled and scarcely tasted sweet, 

That in the boundless void, where shapeless sprites 

Inhabit, hapless beings be as I. 

But how know I what is, or is to be, 

Away in that impenetrable void ? 

Why fly from what I see and most admire 

To seek a solace of phantastic form ? 

The ppst is changeless, changeless what to come ; 

Time as a river flows, and by the stream 

Of my existence is a margin, marred 

With thoughts which now recede and now approaoli, 

As bluffs that grimly guard the banks 

Of yon blue, deep, wide- sweeping Illinois. 

Time wa?, in younger years of my young life, 

When all was undisturbed and unobscared. 

As where Mirooka sees yon prairie plain. 

Has thou no charms, O Morris ? Kankakee ! 

Canst thou not send some gentle breeze to breathe 

Aroma rife with spells? From Fox, fair stream 

Of lovely vales, where swetit Aurora smiles, 

Is there no welcome gale ? Ye virgin leas. 

Ye unmolested and untrodden groves. 

Ye boundless wilds, ye prairie-wandering streams. 

Whose magic life and spell my spirit feels, 

Can ye not make my sullen spirit smile ? 

Or did I wander from the far East — 



The Border Orphan, \\ 

Enters Sister Teresa. 

Sister Teresa, Dear cMld, 

It is a glorious morning. Oh ! There is 
An exquisite calm reigning everj^where. 
No clouds of treacherous form are visible — 
The air abroad no murky aspect wears, 
But a serenely sweet bewitching smile 
Laughs on the face of nature : and, anon. 
What with delightful weather, with superb 
Scenery, and, it may be, with some new 
Romantic incidents — what with our mates 
ExuUant and rejoicing by the stream. 
Think you not, Ellie Laura, we shall have 
A glorious day in our excursion trip ? 

Ellie Laura. Surely. It will much glad my many friends. 
The pupils long expectant speak thereof 
With much enthusiasm, and not unmixed 
With prayer that all will prove a great success. 

Teresa, Ellie, it must delight you much, being so 
Congenial to your own disposition. 

Ellie Laura, Assuredly. I feel a secret charm 
In this wild western country ; as if God 
Had made it Eden-like, and honored us, 
Its first inhabitants (the roaming tribes 
We mark not) by here gathering, planting us. 
I love its newness, wildness, fruitfulness, 
Its greatness, unapproached magnificence — 
They always glad me so. 

2'eresa. Your classmates, too. 



12 EUie Laura; or, 

Ellie Laura, Esta is pleased : I saw her yesterday. 
Clara I met this morning by the way — 
She is delighted. Ida jumps with joy. 
The rest you soon will see ; and as for me — 

Enters a class of children, 

Teresa, I wish you all a happy holiday. 

All answer. Thanks ? Thanks, dear Sister ! 

Teresa. I shan't spend your time 

This morning ; when religious exercise 

Is ended, ye depart. 
AIL Thanks, Sister, thanks I 

Teresa, Which is the morning verse to Christ, our Lord? 
Esta and three others, 

O Christ, Almighty King of Kings, 

Before all ages born, 

"Whose light from light its splendor flings 

O'er Sion's cloudless morn- 
Teresa. To Mary, Virgin ? 
Clara and three others. 

O Queen of grace and peerless power, 

Bright mirror of the AVord, 

Of Sion's gate unconquered tower — 

Hail, Mother of the Lord ! 
Teresa. To Saint Patrick, next, 

Apostle of lerne of the streams ? 
Delia and three others, 

O Patrick, Ireland's glorious Paul 1 

O father ever blest ! 



The Border Orphan. 13 

O glorious son of glorious Gaul ! 
Great Primate of the West ! 
Teresa. Children, what is your prayer to Ireland's saint ? 
All, While grow the trees, 
While blows the breeze, 
While water seeks the sea, 
His Faith with us may be! 
Teresa. To Mary, Virgin, and to Christ, our Lord? 
All, O Mother, pray for us in every strife ! 

O Jesus, grant us everlasting life ! 
Teresa. Let us, to-day, by our appointment state. 
Concise and clear, what Holy Church enjoins, 
What doctrines mould the Catholic intellect. 
What laws the Christian will must needs obey, 
Why human minds to Heaven's decrees mu:st bow. 
Say, Clara, first — whence springs the light that sheds 
Its rays resistless on the human soul ? 
Clara. Two lights illumine man. There is the light 
Which reason, the Creator's mirror, shows ; 
There is the light two Revelations write : 
These lights from Light, are not, nor can be foes. 
In characters indelible and bright. 
From them the laws for mind and will arose ; 
Sealed with the seal of God before all time began, 
No age, no change know they. Two lights illumine 
man. 
Teresa. But since in Revelation mysteries 
There are, high and incomprehensible ; 
Which, Ida, tell are those we needs must know ? 
Ma, ThrougiLOut the Roman universal fold, 



14 Ellie Laura; or, 

Five mysteries, principal, we Lold : 
One only Gud and Triune 'fore all time, 
That God Incarnate, dead, from death sublime ; 
To God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
All worship due from man and aDgels' host! 

Teresa. Will ElJie Laura please explain the laws — 

The ties of love that lie twixt us and God ? 
HUie Laura. Alas ! how weak and worthless we, 

Pale creatures of pale misery. 

High children of high destiny ! 

Praise to the Lord alone ! 

Doth not each wight, that crawls through time. 
Since born of God, though out of slime. 
In oneness show the One sublime ? 
Praise to the Lord alone ! 

Doth not the immortal spirit pass 
Heavenward from its earthly mass, 
And let it moulder as the grass ? 
Praise to the Lord alone ! 

Humanity in coffins pent 
Groaned Abba, till the Father sent 
His Son, and rent that tenement : 
Praise to the Lord alone ! 

The Son appeared, like as the day, 
And on lost man outpoured His ray 
To recreate created clay : 
Praise to the Lord alone ! 



Tlte Border Orphan. 15 

And when the Son had built the dome, 
He sent the Spirit to His Home, 
Within the deathless Church of Rome : 
Praise to the Lord alone ! 

We are of God — to God we go ; 
From Christ all grace, all truth must flow ; 
Shall we not in Christ's Spirit grow, 
And praise the Lord alone ? 

AU, We praise the Lord alone ! 

Teresa, Now, the Ten Laws unto the Hebrews given 
With signs of darkness, mist, and cloud, and light, 
And on the Mount interpreted by Christ, 
Last, as ten pillars of the moral code, 
And bind the will of man. The Sacraments, 
As streams, flow through the city of the soul, 
And sound the seven voices of the Lord, 
Murmuring musically. Sacrifice, 
Prayer, good deeds, penances, as incense, rise 
From all good Catholics unto God's throne. 
Lovely as melting mists in mellow morn. 
But how do Catholics unto the Lord 
The homage of the intellect declare ? 

Delia. By faith, 

Rosa, By the Creed. 

Teresa. There are many creeds ; 

Some made by Councils, some by Fathers, some 
By Popes. Of the Apostles one is named. 



16 Ellie Laura; or, 

Which doth consist of twelve short articles, 

Each framed by one of the twelve chosen chiefs. 

Let twelve the parts of the twelve chiefs declare. 
Agnes for Peter, I, Peter, do this testimony bear : 

There is one God o'er heaven, and earth, and air ; 

All things from Him, Almighty Father, spring — 

The viewless, deathless, uncreated King. 
Teresa, Next. 

The Lord is love, and love is light ; 

Eternal Light, the Father's sheen, 

"With boundless love and boundless might, 

Is made the Christ — I, John, have seen. 
Teresi. Third. 

Ethel for James. Hail, Mother Mary, fall of grace ! 

From thee by Spirit's shadowing face 

Impregned, His birth Christ claims. 

This is the witness of St. James. 
Teresa. Fourth. 

Ann for Andrew. When Koman Pilate ruled the Jew, 

The cross was lifted for a throne ; 

And Christ his blinded people slew — 

I, Andrew, saw His tomb of stone. 
Teresa. Fifthly, Anastasia. 

Anastasiafor Philip. The Christ descended to the dead, 

Glad tidings to the saints to bring ; 

On the third day. resurgent Jesus led 

The imprisoned, as their heavenly King. 



The Border Orphan. 17 

Teresa. Sixth article. 

The Lord in glory heavenward rose, 
And captive led His vanquished foes ; 
On God's right hand He sits on high : 
These truths I believe, though Thomas I. 
Teresa. Which is the seventh, say ? 

Jane for Bartholomew. Woe ! woe to the nations ! Woe 1 
woe to the Jew ! 
For all nations shall wail and the Lord's day shall rue, 
And Jesus will judge both the living and dead. 
Yea ! This is the truth which Bartholomew said. 
Teresa. What saith St. Matthew, the Evangelist? 
Hannah for Matthew. The Holy Spirit, Vivifying Mas- 
ter see — 
The Third and Holy Person of the Trinity. 
Teresa. Cora, what saith St. James of Alpheus ? 
Cora for St. James. St. James one, holy Church, and 
Catholic, defined, 
And Saints communion not by this world's sphere 
confined. , 
Teresa. St. Simon? 

Delia for St. Simon. The church hath power men's sins 

to bind and unbind. 
Teresa. And St. Jude ? 

Winnie for St. Jude. Arise ! arise,' ye dead, from out 
the grave. 
Be clothed with the frames ye knew before — 
Teresa. Mathias, last? 



18 mUie Laura ; or, 

Angelina for Mathias, What part the Christ, as judge, in 
judgment gave — 
Or joys or woes ; that hold ye ever more, 

Teresa, These are the truths, a gracious Saviour brought 
From viewless worlds ; and His disciples' words 
Have spell?, as memory of music loved. 
Like chimes of distant bells, they sound all time, 
At mom, at noon, at eventide, and call 
Us from this world away — home, ever home. 
The friend that solaces the broken heart. 
The child that soothes the tear of mother's woe. 
The traveller bearing wealth and knowledge home. 
The bowels of mercy, and the balm of hearts 
Fall and overflowing with benevolence ; 
These have charms, but round the Saviour *s name 
Their rays concentrate to one living flame. 
Ere you depart, to Christ, the Saviour pray. 

All O Christ, the Saviour ! prolong our days, 
O Virgin Mother, Mary ! guard our ways, 

Patrick ! warm our hearts with living rays 
Of love, to ever sing the Saviour's praise ! 

{Exeunt Omnes,) 

SCENE IL 

In the Country by the River Illinois. 

She Buffalo, Wina, come hither. Walla Walla, come, 

1 wish to talk of times long since gone by. 



The Border Orphan. 19 

Wina, She Buffalo! 

Walla Walla, She Buffalo! 

She Buffalo, Sit here. 

Look towards the river. I have often heard, 

When I was small, Shabnaye^s great-grandfather 

Said, this w^hole vale was by the river filled 

From hill to hill. The waters washed yon heights. 

Pale faces never saw that great, great sight. 

But that was many hundred moons ago. 

And yonder, one day's walk along the stream, 

There are big heaps of earth with many dead. 

Their bones would build the homes of all the Whites. 

The heaps are on the hills. The Indians came. 

When ice was on the stream from hill to hill, 

And w^alked across to see the big, big bones — 

The big, big skulls of our old Indian braves. 

In coming from the lands where sets the sun, 

They counted many moons. They brought with them 

Dead braves, dead squaws, and dead papooses too. 

They looked up to the heavens, and in right line 

Walked by the stars. Big fires blazed on the heights^ 

Like the red sun at eve. From yonder heights 

The Ked man goes to the far hunting grounds. 

Wina and Walla Walla, never stir 

The bones or skulls within those Leaps of earth ; 

For the Great SjDirit guards the Indians there. 

But always do w^hat says She-Buffalo. 

Shabnaye is hunting bears. Sing songs for me. 



20 EUie Laura; or, 

Walla Walla. I sing a song that's old one thousand 
moons ; 

Song, 

On desert and on mountain, 

By river and by stream, 

Where glows the silver fountain 

And glistens the bright beam — 

In the west, in the west far away, 

Sings the Eed man as dieth the day 

There is nought like the land of Shabnaye ! 

For prairies, streams, and wildwood, 

For bull, and bear, and deer, 

For nature's fairest childhood 

The buffalo to cheer — 

In the west, in the west far away, 

Sings the Red man as dieth the day, 

There is nought like the land of Shabimye 1 

The blue bird chirps so sweetly. 

And whoops the whippowiH, 

And coos the chicken meetly, 

And sips the duck its fiU ; 

In the west, in the west far away, 

Sings the red man as dieth the day, 

There is nougVit like the land of Shabnaye ! 

She-Buffalo, 'Tis not so now. Where the white man 
appears. 
The Eed man must leave. The bear, the deer, 



The Border Orphan. 21 

The prairie chicken, and the buffalo 

Follow the sun with the Ked man to the West. 

White man comes with the morning from the East, 

Like grasshoppers. We go to night and death. 

Yet linger we by yonder heaps of earth, 

Where Red man sleeps for thousands of full moons. 

Wina, sing you the hymn of the dead braves. 

Song. 

Wina» Great spirit of the wind and hill, 
Whose voice is heard in storms; 
Bright be the grounds where Buffalo Bill 
His tents and wigwams forms ! 
Great spirit of the thunder-cloud, 
Whose fire is Red at night; 
Swift be the steed, and war-dance proud 
Of brave, but dead, Red Light! 

And Red Light had a noble squaw, 

She sleeps in yonder mound ; 

Sweet be thy sleep, brave Slinelia, 

In happy hunting ground ! 

Great spirit of the Red man's lands. 

To thee the Red men pray ; 

Great spirit ! hear, when Red man stands 

By tombs of brave Shabnaye ! 
She-Buffalo. When I go to the happy hunting grounds, 
Do not forget these songs. You think of me. 
I learned them, when I was papoose like you. 
Ho! Ho! Shabnaye! Shabnaye! 



22 EUie Laurie ; or, 

Papooses. Shabnaye ! 

Shabnaye, She-Buffalo, papooses, stand ye still. 

I hunted miles beyond our home — away ^ 

Beyond our home where Highland is — away 

In Indian land. Met deer, met buffalo, 

Bailed deer, killed buffalo, killed elk, killed birds, 

In Black Hawk's lands. Black Hawk with all his 

braves 
Is on the war-path. Crouching Bear with him. 
Blue Button, Black Cap, Spotted Tail, Wa-Wa, 
Wild Horse, Big Mountain, Wasatch, Goring Bull, 
With all their braves in paint, come like the wind. 
They kill the white man, white papoose, white squaw. 
Two weeks I came, fast as the sun, to. tell 
The White man hide. Like prairie fire, they come. 
The fire of burning houses, like red clouds 
From world's end to world's end. I killed a bear 
Near our own wigam by the Illinois, 
Wina and Walla-Walla, rest ye here. 
She-Buffalo brings food and seeks the woods. 
I tell the Black Gown and his Sisters hide. 

Exeunt Shabnaye and She-Buffolo, Shabnaye shouting. 

Whites ! the Bed man fight his way, 
Whites ! the Bed man ne'er betray, 
Whites ! Shabnaye, your friend Shabnaye, 
Never bend the knee. 
Papooses. Let us go too. Let us go too. Quick 1 quick I 

Exeunt papooses. 



The Border Orpmn. 23 

Entei* Sisters Stanislaus, Constantiay and Lene. 

Stanislaus. Now all is ready for the day and guests. 
The children with their friends will soon be here. 
And well it fares with little waifs thus far. 
Constantia, did you see papooses here ? 

Constantia. I did. They fled, like hares, at our approach ; 
Their manners are so rude. Reared in the wilds, 
And nothing knowing of cultured life — poor things ! — 
Why not their habits a wild impress wear? 
What bird will on the branch thy j^resence wait ? 

Imie. They are papooses of Shabnaye. Awhile 

And we shall see them, and, it may be, Shabnaye 

Himself, and his good squaw, She-Buffalo, 

From time to time, they come to s^U eggs, fish, 

Birds, meat, fruit, vegetables, and the like. 

They plnck wild flowers aud form them into wreatha 

Of shapely form and sweetest fragrancy. 

I have seen moccasins, inlaid with beads, 

And worked with skill surpassing the far East, 

Shabnaye, She-Buffalo, and all his tribe, 

Are friendly Indians. 

S'anislaus. Oh ! that they remained ? 

Irene. They kaow right well our BLick Grown, Father 
Tom. 
At times the Indians have a feast. They dance, 
They yell, sing war-songs and if possible — 

Condanlia. Do what ? 

Irene. Get drunk and feave some one to watch 

Cunsfantia. Watch what? 



24 EUie Laurie ; or, 

Irene. Why, watch without a driuk at all, 

And under ^strictest pain of life. Next time, 

The watchman will be free. 
Stanislaus. It is a shame, 

A degradation of America, 

To brutalize the savage, and instil 

Into his rude and undeveloped soul, 

The passions that true Christian manhood stain, 

rd much more rather be a wild Ked M^m, 

With nature rude and uncontaminate, 

Than a foul pestilential poison thus ! 

The wild Red man may roam the darkest woods — 

They speak to him of God and liberty ! 

The wild Red man, or swims or floats the stream — 

It ennobles and lifts him up to God ! 

Tiie wild Red man surveys the prairie wide — 

Its outspreading expanse swells him to God ! 

There is a something grand and undefirKul, 

An innate and exalted efHuence, 

A spirit that bestirs the elements, 

Shed over this wide hemisphere and \\ild, 

And mantles o'er the Red man's brow with pride. 
Ireup. You, Stanislaus, are always serious ; 

Know you not what She-Buffalo has done ? 
Constantia, Did what ? 
Irene, She skinned a gopher, and as fish 

Sold it to the Black Gown. 
Slanislaus. Untrue! Untrue I 

Irene. That'sp. The other diy, she, hkewise, said 



The Border Orphan, 25 

She saw Black Gown, a man with small brown eyes, 
Hooked nose, and sli@uiders like a buffalo, 
Barefoot, and jumping with a long, long pole 
From cake to cake of ice along the Illinois. 

Stanislaus, Enough 1 Enough ! 

Irene, Yes ! She said she had seen 

A big dead bear upon his back ; and he 
Went barefoot, walking straight like her Shabnaye. 

Enter Black Gown, Ellis Laura, Clara, Eda, Ida and many 

more. 
Black Gown. We sought rou through the fields, and met 
at last. 
How's Stanislaus ? Constantia ? How Irene ? 

Irene, Now, 'tis the month of May 

And all the earth is gay. 
Black Gown. I mefc Teresa and the resfc. Success — 

Yes ! Yes ! to-day is surely a success. 

The Youno' ones seem so bris^ht, so satisfied. 

Even old folks look gay and glad to-day. 

What is the matter \^ith this gentle girl ? 

Alone she seems so settled and so sad. 
Stanislaus. Perhaps, she may the cause in verse exjjlain. 
Ellie Laura. To know is mine, but to assuage in vain. 

Song, 

I am a lone and orphan child, 

And I am sad as few : 

When young, my home was in the wild 

That skirts sweet Avondhu. 



2() Ellie Laura; or^ 

And I was forced to cross the main 
And wander to the West, 
Till wandering on I found it vain 
To find one spot of rest. 

No fields, no flowers, no streams, no skies. 
Can paint or bless the view, 
Since there's a spell for me where lies 
My home by Avoudhu. 

My mother lives by foreign shore, 
Or moulders by the main ; 
My father I shall see once more, 
Unless my hope is vain. 

I am a lone and orphan child, 

And I am sad as few ; 

When young, my home was in the wild 

That skirts sweet Avondhu. 

Black Gown, In the old land there are three Avondhus ; 
Is there a trio for America ? 

Trio's Song, — ( C/a/'a, Esta, Ida.) 

Clara for Illinois, My home is in proud Illinois, 
And I extol the West : 
My heart exults and calls with joy, 
My home the home of rest. 

Repeated by trio. 



The Border Orphan. 27 

Edafor Massachusetts, Where Massachusetts &tems the sea, 
Upon the beaton shore — 
There is the home of liberty, 
The home that I adore. 

Bepeated by trio, 

Ida for New York, The Hudson forms a noble bay. 
The sister of proud Cork ; 
My heart and soul are in the lay 
That swells to grand New York ! 

Repeated by irio* 

B^w'k Gown, I hear some noise abroad, as that of fear — 

Enter Teresa, Grotty, Kinsella, McGennis, and others, 
Teresa, We come on sad and sudden circumstance : 
Black Hawk is on the war-path ! Sudden rise, 
Sudden haste to dark woods, and sudden hide 1 
Some to Shabnaye and some to Kinsella — 
Black Gown, Good God! what sudden, dire calamity! 

Lord ! show forth Thy power, protect Thy friends 1 
No night but knows the rising of a day — 

All depart saying, 
O God ! soon show the rising of that day ! 

SCENE m. 
In Shabnaye's Wigwam. 

EUie Laura soliloquizing, Alas ! O that the men were 
never born, 
Who built the ship that hither wafted me ! 



28 Elite Laura ; 01% 

O would the waves had swallowed her at sea, 
And thus anticipated this my doom ! 
O had I perished in my younger days, 
And had not lived to taste of trials thus ! 
Ah ! that my mind had slept in infant form ; 
And sorrow after sorrow had not swept 
Across my path to bend me to the earth, 
A weeping willow looking on the grave ! 
Ah ! well-a-day ! Again. Ah ! well-a-day ! 

Enter Papooses. 

Papooses. Don't mourn, don't mourn. She-Buffalo not 
pleased. 

WaUa Walla. We always do what says She-Buffalo. 

Wina. She-Buffalo will soon be here again. 

Walla Walla, And, then, we all be glad — 

Papooses. We all be glad. 

Elite Laura. Ah ! were my heart as blithe and uncon- 
cerned 
As that which in your little bosoms heaves, 
And were I, gentle little Indians, born 
In forests, and in forests reared from youth ; 
Like you, with hearts unthinkiug and unawed, 
Heedless, light-hearted, playful, I would be. 
The birds' sweet song, as heavenly melody. 
Would ring by deep, wide-sweeping Illinois. 
Entranced I would the live-long day remain, 
And wander by its banks, and see the beams 
Dance on its eddies, and wild birds approach 



The Border Orphan, 29 

Its face with kisses and with outspread wings, 
And fishes frolicsome along its waves. 
And the calm roseate face of forest morn, 
With all its freshness and its noiseless charms, 
Would be to me delightful ; and at eve 
The setting sun, with golden canopy, 
And fair embroidery of silver hue. 
Above and round his far horizon throne, 
Shedding effulgence, effluence, and balm. 
Afar o'er stream, and wood, and plain, and lake — 
Ah ! such to me enchantment were, to make 
The bear's roar sweet, the wolf's howl musical : 
Ah ! well-a-day ! Again. Ah ! well-a-day ! 

Papooses. Don't mourn, don't mourn. She-Buffalo not 
pleased. 

Wina. She-Buffalo soon come. 

Walla Walla. Sing songs. 

Papooses Sing songs. 

Ellie Laura. Song, 

Oh ! I met with two angels in woodland all wild ; 

Heavenly beauty their countenance wore, 

And they strove to console a disconsolate child, 

And alas ! it grew worse than before. 

The light which they shed but increased the deep 

gloom 
Of that child's weary life and its pain ; 
Since its sorrows had marked it a child of the tomb. 
And to strive to console it were vain. 



30 EUie Laura; or. 

Then the two little angels looked up to the sky, 

And spoke of the joys that are there : 

'* Musfe thou grieve, gentle child, while those man-. 

sions on high 
Look so splendid, so happy, so fair ?" 
" No, no," said the child, " with bright wings I shall go 
From the earth with its sorrow and gloom ; 
This one joy I must have in the depth of my woe, 
Though I am a child of the tomb." 
Papooses, She-Buffalo soon come. She pleased. She 

pleased. 

Papooses, 

Duette on the Gopher 

Down by the stream. 

At morning beam. 

The happy little gopher 

Came on his way 

To find some prey, 

Like any other loafer 

At early morn, 

Hard by the corn, 

The two of us were playing, 

And, when we saw 

His little paw. 

We stayed where we were staying. 

Oh ! the gopher, 

The dear and happy gopher 1 



The Border Orphan. 31 

Cauglit at mom 

Hard by tlie corn, 

Our happy little gopher ! 

With teeth he chip3 
Outside his lips, 
As sharp as any other ; 
And with big cheeks 
He loudly squeaks, 
He wants his little brother ; 
But ia the ground 
Hell ne'er be found 
As long as we are able — 
But he'll be fed, 
Just near our bed, 
Beneath our little -table. 
Oh ! the gopher, 
The dear and happy gopher I 
Caught at morn, 

Hard by the coin, 

Our happy littlo gopher! 

Papoose:^, Heigh! heigh! She-Bnffiilo! She-Buffalo! 

She mouro, she muuru — papoose >vith the pale face. 
She-Buffalo, Po'>r white papoose, hear me. I have a heart, 

"When brave Shabnaye comes back, we have good 
news. 

Shabnaye was on the war-path many tiuies — 

As many times as days are in one moon. 

He always comes with scalps of brave and squaws. 



32 EUle. Lanra : or, 

Likewise this time he comes with mnnj scoJps. 
Let us pow-wow. Be brave like Indian squaw. 

Eilie Laura. Would that my soul were made of hardti 
btuff! 
The rock wears by the trickling of a drop ; 
Tis time my face were furrowed by its tears. 
8c:irce had I laughed to my fond mother's smile, 
When I was from her bosom torn away. 
And wafted o'er a wide and angry sea, 
To grow 'mong strangers in a foreign clime. 
Like plants in sunshine born and from light taken. 
Again, to father lost, and orphan found, 
And hurried from companionship and friends 
To new companionship, new friends, new homes. 
What, save religion, was there to me left ? 
After e'er changing and e'er losing life, 
What now confronts me, but a home in woods, 
Surrounded by will beasts and wilder men? 
Ah ! well-a-day ! Again. Ah ! well-a-day ! 

She-Buffalo, The White man thinks the Red man has no 
heart. 
We have good, kindly hearts. We know our wrongs. 
We feel hard deeds, and do not wail as you. 
We've lost our lands. Away from the far East, 
We have been driven towards the setting sun. 
We have not buffalo, elk, deer, birds, fish. 
As we used have. We're always growing few, 
Like leave s of trees of forests in the Fall ; 
We have br ive Indian hearts, and do not mourn. 



The Border Orphan, S3 

We Indians have good eyes, big* strength, kind hearts 
Before the White man, and we must perform 
His works, and do his will, and do not mourn. 
Poor, ^vhite papoose ! I will take care of you ; 
I have a kind, good heart — Oh ! do not mourn ! 

E lie Laura. Ah, me ! I would I might not mourn, 
But I must mourn again, 
Since I was from a father torr. 
And mother mourn in vain. 

And two lost brotl>er« I diejplore — 
Their loss would melt a stone ; 
And I must mourn, and mouru the more, 
That I am now alone. 

Misfortunes now my joys destroy. 
And I love nought I hail ; 
Here in the land of Iliiiioii?, 
My joy is endless wail. 

She-Bafdo, Ho ! Ho ! H^re are three white papooses. See ! 

Ellie Laura. Hail ! ye compafnions of my woe, 
Can ye in sorrows joy? 
Can yo, with me, all hopes forego 
And wail through Illinois ? 

Though fortune press^es woe on woe, 
As darkly as the night ; 
In all its darkness feh^re's a glow— 
Companianship is light ! 



34 EUie Laura; or, 

The trio, 

Clara, No tribulations shall destroy 

Our hopes of good, our hopes of joy, 
Or make us wail through lUinois 
Endlessly. 

Bepealed by the trio. 

Esta. No terrors ought a coward make, 

No woes a pure souFs manhood break, 
Nor should a noble spirit quake 
Needlessly. 

Bepealed by the trio. 

The PoLir night knows equal day. 
We hope, in God, we trust Shabnaye, 
And dark calamities survey 
Fearlessly. 

Repeated by the tino. 

She-Buffalo. Brave ! brave ! papooses, how have ye es- 
caped ? 

Esta. Escaped ! — why, we directly sought the woods. 
There to await the passing of the storm ; 
When Black Hawk's bands were known to be at war. 
Bounding like buffixloes behind Shabnaye, 
Some screamed, some wept, some prayed, and somo 

despaired. 
There was no time to lose. Now, one long eight. 
At times in anxious thought, at times in fear. 
Is passed. The luncheon for our holiday 



The Border Orphan, 35 

We chauged to rations, and the wood as wails 
Rose wild and dark around us, and the moss 
As pillow served, and stars were Lung as lamps 
In the pale sky above us, and our home 
Was solitude, and our defense was God. 

Ida, Yea ! even when from the dense underbrush, 
Where we lay hidden, we beheld the smoke 
Of burning houses blackly cloud the sky. 
And when we heard tbe wierd war-whoop of fiends 
Madly pursuing their way as raging wolves. 
And when we saw their fires on yonder heights 
Shining at dead of night, while round them rode 
Chieftains with painted faces, and bedecked 
With plumes, and blazing scarlet, and bright blue. 

Clara. But we were sad — lamenting, it may be. 

The death of our dear mates and our fond friends. 
For them we mourned much more than for ourselves ; 
And thy fate, EUie Laura, crossed our minds. 

Ellie Laura. It is not home nor life I mourn, 
Nor things that glad the eye. 
For siuce I was fi-om a father torn, 
I do not pause to die. 

Ida, And now the war- tide of Black Hawk is passed. 
His trail was ^vestward — ever westward. Ho ! 
This m')rn, as rose the sun, he left yon heights 
And highlands iov tbe far MississipiDi ; 
Crotty we met, who sent us to Shabnaye. 



3C Ellie Laura ; or, 

She-Buffalo. The war trail now is o'er. 
Black Hawk will come no more, 
Nor Wa-Wa paint with gore : 
Hejoice ! rejoice ! rejoicrj ! 

Wild Horse, nor Crouch ing Bear, 
Nor Goring Bull, will wear 
The White squaw's flowing hair : 
Eejoic':}! rejoice! rejoice! 

Of all the Reds that stray 
Along the forest way, 
There's none like brave Shabnaye : 
Rejoice! rejoice! rejoice! 

Unequalled in the fray, 

Unable to betray, 

There's none like brave Shabnaye : 

Rtjoice! rej'vjice! rejoice! 

Wiih many scalps to day, 
Home — home returns all gay, 
Shabnaye, the brave Shabnaye 
Rejoice! rejoice! rejoice! 

Enter Crotty a^rd Kinsella, 
Grotty. So, so She-Buffalo. You are all here. 

Well, that is good. These young ones are all safe. 
So are all, all. Black Hawk has missed his mark. 
Two companies of Union troops are come. 

Kinse/Ja. Though we have lost some houses, it is well 
Oar scalps are safe : we ove it to Shabnaye. 



The Border Orpmn. 37 

Enters Shabnaye, 

Shahmye. Ho ! Ho ! She-Buffalo ! Ho ! Kinselk— 
AIL Long live Shabnaye ! Long live Shabnaye ! Siiabnaye ! 
Crolly. We come, Shabnaye, commissioned by the town 

To give to you tiue and eternal thanks. 

\\e give yoLi houses, horses, money, lands. 

The White Man's heart is ever with Shabnaye. 
Shabnaye. I thank you and I always fight for White man. 
Enier Teresa, Slanislaus, Condantia and Irenr, 

Shabnaye 1 we come to tender you our thanks. 

You have saved us, our pupils, and our friends. 

Whilst life reu)ains, we shan't forget Shabnaye. 

And thaiiks She-Buffalo. 
Shabnaye. I fight for Black Gown. 

(Jrotty. Heie, Sister, are the four whom you have missed. 
Teresa. A Col ^nel, Ellie Laura, looks for you — 

I think it is for you. 
Ellie Laura. I cannot speak, 

So s.id am L 
Teresa. A father seeks a child. 

Crotty, What says he '? 

Teresa. Ellie Laura is her name. 

Ellie Laura. Where does he hail from ? 
There,sa. Hails from Avondhu. 

Ellie Lauri. Did he have other children ? 
Teresa. Ycs, Two sons. 

Ellie Laura. Where are these children ? 
Teresa. Dead. 



38 Ellie Laurie : or, 

ELlle Laura. Wiiere is his wife ? 

Terem. His wife is buried close by Avoiidlm. 
Ellie Laura. Good God ! what is his height, his form, his 
size, 

His age, complexion^ color, features— 
Crotfy. Stop. 

To-day we come to thank the brave Shabnjiye ; 

Sing tor the chief, if such be thy desire. 

Tliat colonel in Columbia's name will come 

To thank the great, the good, the brave Shabnaye ! 

Song, 

Ellie Laura, Oh ! had I but the one thai I see ; 

Oh ! how quickly my sorrows would flee, 
And how blithe and how happy I'd be. 
And I wo aid fain rejoice! 

Oh! had I but the jov that I know ; 
Oh ! how sweetly my soug \vould then llow, 
And fetill younger and youuger I'd grow. 
Till I knew father's voice I 

Enters the ColoneL 

Colonel.' Shabnaye ! big chief, protector of the whites, 
I come to express the gratitude of alL 
Hear ! The Great Father speaks from Washington. 
Here are his thanks, his presents to Shrbnaye. 

Shabnaye takes the presents, 

Shabnaye has never yet the whites betrayed — 
Shabnaye was never yet of foes afraid — 



The Border Orphan. 39 

Sliabnaye his rank and name will ne'er degrade — 
Sbabnaye will be Sliabnaye, thougli presents fade ! 
Ellie Laura is led by the hand and presented to her father by 
Sister Teresa, Colonel ! thy long lost daughter, thy loved 
child, 
I here present to thee. Thanks to Sliabnaye — 
Or rather thanks to God, who, through Shabnaye, 
Hath saved the Whites, and after many years 
Of sundered feeliugs, deep sighs, and saddened hearts, 
Restores unto the father from the wild 
His Ellie Laura, long lost orphan child, 
Pure, sjjotless, loving, lovely, undefiled. 



EPILOGUE. 

Aleostic to Sistees or Saint Joseph, Mothek Tkresa, 

Some love to roam in lands of peace — 

In lands of glory and of lore ; 

Some praise the hills and isles of Greece 

That look magnificent and hoar. 

Enriched with legendary store, 

Kome rises grandly o'er the rest. 

Since her proud Egale fluttered o'er 

Orient, Afric, and the West, 

Fierce, fiery, matchless, awd supreme confessed. 

Still lives America with spells, 

And envies not these ancient lands : 

In her God's architecture dwells, 

Nor mars the mimicry of hands — 

There is a spell where mountain stands 

Joined with the dark and deep ravine, 

Or where the prairie plain expands, 

Sad, solemn, sombre, and serene. 

Enriched with streams, and garmented wdth gi-een. 

Proud land ! I love thy storms and flood — 
Hark ! where thy mighty mountains rise, 



Epilogue. 41 

Magic in might and multitude ; 
Or where thine azure ample skies 
' Throw their bright ^.anopies 
High o'er thy vasty realms all gay. 
Elate we see with gladdened eyes 
Rude nations from these lands decay, 
Though theirs was once Shabnaye — the brave Shab- 
nayei 

Enlightened hearers, here we pause, 

Rest, spirit of the brave Shabnaye ! 

Ellie — sweet Ellie Laura's cause. 

Still westward moves, as moves the day, 

And sounils, where sounded songs of brave Shabnayc3. 



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